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Read and share online: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2023/november

Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software Foundation's (FSF) monthly news digest and action update -- being read by you and 232,347 other activists. That's 433 more than last month!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Call for Sessions extended until November 17
  • Register to be part of LibrePlanet 2024: Cultivating Community
  • GNU40 USA: Meeting with old and new friends, and some first few steps on the freedom ladder
  • The third round of FSF board candidate discussions has begun
  • The UK's controversial Online Safety Bill finally becomes law
  • California Right to Repair signed into law
  • October GNU Emacs news
  • Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
  • LibrePlanet featured resource: LibrePlanet Denver
  • October GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali: Eleven new GNU releases!
  • FSF and other free software events
  • Thank GNUs!
  • GNU copyright contributions
  • Translations of the Free Software Supporter
  • Take action with the FSF!

View this issue online here: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2023/november

Encourage your friends to subscribe and help us build an audience by adding our subscriber widget to your website.

Miss an issue? You can catch up on back issues at https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter.

Want to read this newsletter translated into another language? Scroll to the end to read the Supporter in French, Spanish, or Portuguese.

Call for Sessions extended until November 17

From October 25

We are extending the Call for Sessions for LibrePlanet 2024: Cultivating Community until November 17, 12:00 EST (16:00 UTC).

The theme for LibrePlanet 2024 is "Cultivating Community." This year's focus is on further growing the free software movement, mobilizing from the grassroots, and building a stronger community in the process. We will ask ourselves: How can we be a welcoming community, one that attracts newcomers, as well as continue to be a lasting home to all the wonderful people who already belong to it? We're excited by the applications that we've seen come in so far. Thank you to those who submitted a session for LibrePlanet 2024! If you haven't submitted your session yet, please take advantage of the extension and submit by the deadline.

Also, don't miss your opportunity to nominate a special individual and/or project for this year's Free Software Awards.

Register to be part of LibrePlanet 2024: Cultivating Community

From October 18

The registration for the sixteenth edition of the FSF's annual conference LibrePlanet is open. We were delighted to see several people email us preemptively and ask where they could register to attend LibrePlanet 2024: Cultivating Community. Since we're as excited about the next edition of LibrePlanet as you are, we opened registration this month. LibrePlanet will be held, in person, on a weekend in March, 2024, in the Boston area, MA, USA, as well as online. The exact date and location will be announced soon. Read the announcement to learn more about the different registration levels and how to register today.

GNU40 USA: Meeting with old and new friends, and some first few steps on the freedom ladder

From October 11

On Sunday, October 1, the FSF hosted a hackday to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the GNU Project. Participants enjoyed GNU-themed cake, played free software games, watched a GNU Boot demo, and more. All in all, the event succeeded in our goal of welcoming both long-time members as well as introducing new people to free software and our cause. And for those wondering What's next for GNU? Well, as FSF president Geoff Knauth put it, "Life begins at forty."

The third round of FSF board candidate discussions has begun

From October 3

We finished two successful rounds of discussions and started the third and last round in this candidate cycle on September 19. We were pleased to see many participate in the first two rounds, and we thank those who participated for their valuable feedback. In this round, we will discuss the following six candidates: Alexandre Oliva, Amin Bandali, Denis Carikli, Micky Metts, Protesilaos Stavrou, and Rubén Rodríguez. We invite all eligible associate members to participate in this final round of the cycle's FSF board candidate discussions, as part of its board process.

The UK's controversial Online Safety Bill finally becomes law

From October 26 by Jon Porter

We are disappointed to learn that the UK has passed its so-called Online Safety Bill. While the bill promises many things, such as protecting children online, it does so by imposing invasive surveillance on ordinary UK citizens. Many end-to-end communication services have already said that they will be forced to leave the UK because of the new rules. We also encourage you to read our article, published in June, on reasons why encryption is important, and why we oppose this and similar bills: https://u.fsf.org/41a

California Right to Repair signed into law

From October 10 by Elizabeth Chamberlain

Progress was made this October in the Right to Repair movement. We saw California Right to Repair Act, SB 244 signed into law, which promises to give consumers important options for repairing their devices. Of course, when it comes to devices that run software, software freedom is also critical to consumers' right to repair. Read more about this law, as well as how free software plays a role in the Right to Repair movement.

October GNU Emacs news

From October 30 by Sacha Chua

In these issues: Digital art using artist mode, org-based static blog generator, listening to the radio with GNU Emacs, various events, and more!

Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory

Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth of useful information, from basic category and descriptions to version control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing. The Free Software Directory has been a great resource to software users over the past decade, but it needs your help staying up-to-date with new and exciting free software projects.

To help, join our weekly IRC meetings on Fridays. Meetings take place in the #fsf channel on Libera.Chat, and usually include a handful of regulars as well as newcomers. Libera.Chat is accessible from any IRC client -- Everyone's welcome!

The next meeting is Friday, November 3 from 12:00 to 15:00 EDT (16:00 to 19:00 UTC). Details here:

LibrePlanet featured resource: LibrePlanet Denver

Every month on the LibrePlanet wiki, we highlight one resource that is interesting and useful -- often one that could use your help.

For this month, we are highlighting LibrePlanet Denver, which provides information about the LibrePlanet Denver group, which has been ramping up its activities recently. On the page, you can learn about the group, its goals, its meeting coordination, activities, and points of contact. You are invited to adopt, spread, and improve this resource

Do you have a suggestion for next month's featured resource? Let us know at [email protected].

October GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali: Eleven new GNU releases!

Eleven new GNU releases in the last month (as of October 29, 2023):

For a full list with descriptions, please see: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/october-gnu-spotlight-with-amin-bandali-eleven-new-gnu-releases

For announcements of most new GNU releases, subscribe to the info-gnu mailing list: https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-gnu.

To download: nearly all GNU software is available most reliably from https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/. Optionally, you may find faster download speeds at a mirror located geographically closer to you by choosing from the list of mirrors published at https://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html, or you may use https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a (hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.

A number of GNU packages, as well as the GNU operating system as a whole, are looking for maintainers and other assistance. Please see https://www.gnu.org/server/takeaction.html#unmaint if you'd like to help. The general page on how to help GNU is at https://www.gnu.org/help/help.html.

If you have a working or partly working program that you'd like to offer to the GNU project as a GNU package, see https://www.gnu.org/help/evaluation.html.

As always, please feel free to write to me, [email protected], with any GNUish questions or suggestions for future installments.

FSF and other free software events

Thank GNUs!

We appreciate everyone who donates to the Free Software Foundation, and we'd like to give special recognition to the folks who have donated $500 or more in the last month.

This month, a big Thank GNU to:

  • Corwin Brust
  • Eric Gross
  • Judicaël Courant
  • Kenneth Rodriguez Garcia
  • Michael Lalumiere
  • Nahuel Sacchetti
  • OFSET
  • Rolando Garza

You can add your name to this list by donating at https://donate.fsf.org/.

GNU copyright contributions

Assigning your copyright to the Free Software Foundation helps us defend the GNU GPL and keep software free. The following individuals have assigned their copyright to the FSF (and allowed public appreciation) in the past month:

  • Axel Stenkil Forsman (GNU Emacs)
  • Huan Thieu Nguyen (GNU Emacs)
  • Jinyi Xian (GNU Emacs)
  • waffl3x (GCC)

Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your copyright to the FSF.

Translations of the Free Software Supporter

El Free Software Supporter está disponible en español. Para ver la versión en español haz click aquí: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2023/noviembre

Para cambiar las preferencias de usuario y recibir los próximos números del Supporter en español, haz click aquí: https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id=3095323&cs=1607dc7c77971ef7ad10e144598193b4_1698891549_168

Le Free Software Supporter est disponible en français. Pour voir la version française cliquez ici: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2023/novembre

Pour modifier vos préférences et recevoir les prochaines publications du Supporter en français, cliquez ici: https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id=3095323&cs=1607dc7c77971ef7ad10e144598193b4_1698891549_168

O Free Software Supporter está disponível em português. Para ver a versão em português, clique aqui: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2023/novembro-pt

Para alterar as preferências do usuário e receber as próximas edições do Supporter em português, clique aqui: https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id=3095323&cs=1607dc7c77971ef7ad10e144598193b4_1698891549_168

Take action with the FSF!

Contributions from thousands of individual associate members enable the FSF's work. You can contribute by joining at https://my.fsf.org/join. If you're already a member, you can help refer new members (and earn some rewards) by adding a line with your member number to your email signature like:

I'm an FSF member -- Help us support software freedom! https://my.fsf.org/join

The FSF is always looking for volunteers. From rabble-rousing to hacking, from issue coordination to envelope stuffing -- there's something here for everybody to do. Also, head over to our campaigns section and take action on software patents, Digital Restrictions Management, free software adoption, OpenDocument, and more.

Do you read and write Brazilian-Portuguese and English? The Brazilian-Portuguese translation team is looking for additional translators for the Free Software Supporter. Please send an email to [email protected] with your interest and a list of your experience and qualifications.


Copyright © 2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.